Chapter 08

So it was with that line of thought that Luffy sat down and resigned himself to the plan that was forming in his mind. It was a reckless plan, but Luffy was a reckless person, and he could hardly imagine that they'd be in any danger even if Nami repeated her exact actions from the previous timeline.

And so far, she was doing just that. The only difference was that she still hadn't told him her name. She suggested that they work together for a while. She had navigational skills he needed, and he could really throw a punch. When Luffy asked if she would join his crew, she hesitated, and said that she would only join temporarily. Satisfied for now, he mentioned that they were pirates. He didn't miss the hardening of her eyes, but she went on as if the information didn't matter.

Her proposition was to infiltrate Buggy's base of operations together and split their treasure 60/40. Luffy found it pretty hilarious that she would suggest an uneven split of the profits when she wasn't actually planning on keeping her end of the bargain. He wondered if that was just thrown in to make it more believable. But that was Nami for you. Cunning, opportunistic, and, taking into account that her plan involved both of them getting away, slightly naïve. But that would change soon enough.

Luffy heard her out and agreed to the plan. Nami didn't tie him up with ropes this time. He briefly wondered why, but quickly dismissed it as Nami recognizing that he wasn't as stupid as he made people believe. But while they walked towards the area that Buggy's crew was occupying, a small grin stretched across Luffy's face as he realized that Nami had adapted to this minor detail, and simply planned to betray him when they got there.

Luffy nearly laughed at the thought of her naïveté as they continued to walk, but caught himself. Nami wasn't stupid. Far from it. Her true problem was that she was blinded by her preconceptions and common sense. She thought ahead, but she didn't account for all the possibilities like, say, Robin did. Something that she didn't account for could really throw a wrench in her plans, even a trivial detail like her not having the strength to carry that much gold.

She also didn't account for the fact that Luffy could beat the crap out of Buggy's crew while tied up and blindfolded, but that couldn't really be expected of her. A few pirates took notice of them as they walked into the plaza, and signaled their captain. Buggy showed up and looked at them with no small amount of hostility. This was the bitch that stole their map and that annoying boss of hers. When his henchman had returned and made their report, Buggy had refrained from flaying them alive, deciding to save it for the thieves. They were certainly making this easy, though.

"What do you flashy bastards want? I hope you're here to return the map you stole!" Nami took on a devious grin as her plan unfolded. In no more than a few seconds, Luffy's hands and torso were tied up with a rope that seemed to come out of nowhere. She really was good at this.

"That's right! I'm sick of working for this guy. I've come to return the map and join your crew. You can have my boss as a gift," she shouted. Buggy looked thoughtful at this turn of events, and then started laughing. "I guess you're not as stupid as I originally thought! What's your name then?" Nami straightened and gave him the same fake name that she had given Luffy.

Figures. Pirates soon surrounded Luffy, and he rolled his eyes.

This was the part where he'd have to show restraint. Luffy wasn't really good with restraint. In fact, when two thugs shoved him in a cage that he easily remembered, he couldn't help but knock them out with a blast of Conqueror's Haki. This could have been a problem had they not been drinking so much, but as it was, the surrounding pirates just laughed, thinking it was simply the effect of the binge. Nami's eyes narrowed, but she dismissed it in favor of scanning the area discretely. She quickly located a key that she was pretty sure was to the cage, the map of the Grand Line which was handed to Buggy after she had surrendered it, and a heavily guarded building that was most likely their treasure vault.

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